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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. degree — temperature
  3. staff — employees
  4. band — a ring
  5. mark — a grade
  6. stem — to come from
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. game — wild animals
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. staff — employees
  13. degree — an amount
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. game — a match
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. scale — in music
  18. band — a music group
  19. scale — size or range
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. mark — a trace
  22. degree — from a university
  23. staff — a stick
  24. fan — a supporter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com